An undergraduate team from Northwestern University in Qatar is leading a field reporting project examining the social effects of climate change in Pakistan as part of their Pulitzer Center 2023 Reporting Fellowship. Established in 2006, the Pulitzer Center is an independent news media organization supporting independent reporting on global issues.
The Pulitzer Center annually awards fellowships through its grants program to undergraduate students at Campus Consortium partner universities, including Northwestern Qatar. These fellowships enable students to undertake international reporting projects focused on underreported issues around the world.
Journalism students Mishaal Hasan Shirazi and Sarah Shamim, recipients of the 2023 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship, are leading this year’s reporting project. Working together, the duo is reporting on the disproportionate impact of climate change disasters on minority religious groups and marginalized working-class families in Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2022 record-breaking floods.
“The flooding is more than a climate issue; it is part of a cycle of destruction that unfolds annually in Pakistan and disproportionally impacts minority religious communities,” said Shamim, explaining how increased floods and poor infrastructures forced these minority communities to migrate to major cities and face violence and discrimination in the process. “This [climate crisis] leads to the creation of a climate refugee crisis that is not reported on,” she added.
To untangle the complexity of the issue and shed light on the trajectory of displaced groups, the reporting duo is interviewing members of the affected communities and documenting the efforts of civil society working on the ground. Using interactive storytelling skills they learned at Northwestern Qatar, they will produce a short documentary and long-form interactive piece highlighting policy and developmental factors contributing to this issue.
The Pulitzer Center annually awards fellowships through its grants program to undergraduate students at Campus Consortium partner universities, including Northwestern Qatar. These fellowships enable students to undertake international reporting projects focused on underreported issues around the world.
Journalism students Mishaal Hasan Shirazi and Sarah Shamim, recipients of the 2023 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellowship, are leading this year’s reporting project. Working together, the duo is reporting on the disproportionate impact of climate change disasters on minority religious groups and marginalized working-class families in Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2022 record-breaking floods.
“The flooding is more than a climate issue; it is part of a cycle of destruction that unfolds annually in Pakistan and disproportionally impacts minority religious communities,” said Shamim, explaining how increased floods and poor infrastructures forced these minority communities to migrate to major cities and face violence and discrimination in the process. “This [climate crisis] leads to the creation of a climate refugee crisis that is not reported on,” she added.
To untangle the complexity of the issue and shed light on the trajectory of displaced groups, the reporting duo is interviewing members of the affected communities and documenting the efforts of civil society working on the ground. Using interactive storytelling skills they learned at Northwestern Qatar, they will produce a short documentary and long-form interactive piece highlighting policy and developmental factors contributing to this issue.
“These student journalists, through their Pulitzer fellowship, are reporting on the often overlooked social effects of climate change in Pakistan. Their dedication to giving a voice to marginalized communities demonstrates true journalistic excellence and their commitment to evidence-based storytelling”
- Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar
In explaining how their upbringing in Pakistan helped their projects, Shirazi said it gave them a unique understanding of the local Pakistani society and enabled them to situate identity politics in the context of urban planning and policy. “We were both born and raised in Pakistan. We have actually seen people being affected by the floods,” said Shirazi. “We recognized how a lot of it [international media coverage] can be reductive and can neglect perspectives that international reporters don’t necessarily have the eye for, and that’s the gap that we hope to fill through our project.”
“These student journalists, through their Pulitzer fellowship, are reporting on the often overlooked social effects of climate change in Pakistan,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Their dedication to giving a voice to marginalized communities demonstrates true journalistic excellence and their commitment to evidence-based storytelling."
Northwestern Qatar students have received numerous grants for international reporting projects as part of an ongoing partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Past projects have included documentaries on Pakistan’s community of scrap collectors working, Yemeni refugees in South Korea, the impacts of the refugee crisis on refugee children in Malaysia, and many more projects on issues around the world.
“These student journalists, through their Pulitzer fellowship, are reporting on the often overlooked social effects of climate change in Pakistan,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “Their dedication to giving a voice to marginalized communities demonstrates true journalistic excellence and their commitment to evidence-based storytelling."
Northwestern Qatar students have received numerous grants for international reporting projects as part of an ongoing partnership with the Pulitzer Center. Past projects have included documentaries on Pakistan’s community of scrap collectors working, Yemeni refugees in South Korea, the impacts of the refugee crisis on refugee children in Malaysia, and many more projects on issues around the world.
